Consequences
by Battle Fries
Summary: The Connors jump from 1999 Los Angeles back to 1997 Sunnydale to find the true origin of Skynet, but they have no idea what they're getting into. Not to mention a high probability of conflicting romantic feelings.
1. Arrival

**_CONSEQUENCES_**

_There's always consequences. Always! _-Spike; After Life

* * *

><p>Chapter I: Arrival<p>

John Connor watched his mother aiming the not-really nuclear gun at the door through which Cromartie was about to emerge. Cameron had told him that she knew when and where Skynet would be created, and they were going to take the fight to the enemy. All they had to do was survive long enough to get there.

The temporal displacement equipment was powering up, and John found himself for the first time witnessing an actual journey through time. _And I'm about to come out naked. In front of my mom and Cameron who will also be naked. Why the hell am I thinking about this when a Terminator is about to kill us all?_

The door to the bank vault was starting to be ripped from its hinges, and the damaged face of the killing machine was visible. "Mom!"

Sarah fired a shot of energy at the thing wearing the guise of a man, and the blast took its head clean off just before a blinding flash of blue-white light.

John opened his eyes as he felt a cool breeze against his bare skin. His feet were touching dirt, and he stood up straight to find himself together with his mother and his new guardian in the middle of a cemetery. "Cameron? Where are we? Also, when are we?"

"We're in Sunnydale, California," the nude gynoid said without any hint of shame for her nakedness. "The date is July 28, 1997."

"What? Why didn't you come to us in 1997 and bring us here without time travel?" Sarah exclaimed. "And I thought that the TDE could only move through time. How'd we get someplace else?"

"You were misinformed," Cameron said. "And you were too deep in hiding in 1997 to find. It was close to when you then believed to Judgment Day to be, and law enforcement was looking for you in force."

"Let me guess," John said. "Future me told you this."

"Yes. But for now, we need to find-"

A sound cut through the night air. A band of men and women were rushing towards them in a feral way that contrasted sharply with their formal wear. They made roaring sounds and their faces looked strange.

"Stay back," Cameron warned.

"What are those?" Sarah asked.

Cameron ignored her and walked forward as one of the things tried to grab her. She simply knocked his hands away and grabbed him by the neck and twisted. Its head came off before the entire thing, clothes and all, turned to dust.

The other creatures looked at Cameron more carefully, but it was only a moment before they came again. The Terminator decapitated each of them in turn, and like the first, they all turned to dust. When only one was left standing, it fled, running amazingly quickly.

"What the hell were those things?" Sarah shouted. "And how did you-"

"They were vampires," Cameron said harshly, cutting her off. "We need to get indoors."

"Indoors, where?" John asked. "This doesn't look like a big city where we can just find an abandoned place and hide there."

"No, there are places like that, but they're likely to be taken by vampires."

"More of those things?" Sarah exclaimed. "What the hell is-"

"Beneath us," Cameron cut her off. "Hell is beneath us, and something from it, or at least close to it, is the origin of Skynet. That's why we're here."

"As for getting indoors, how are we going to do that? Just kick someone out of their home?"

"No, John. We're going to your place."

* * *

><p>They traveled quickly and quietly, and Sarah felt incredibly idiotic running around a peaceful-looking town in the nude. Except the town wasn't peaceful at all. There were actual <em>vampires<em> living here, if the machine was to be believed. While Terminators weren't the things Sarah trusted most by a long shot, there was no denying what she had seen and heard in the cemetery.

"What do you mean when you said 'my place?'" John asked the machine.

"You sent back agents to set up a safe house for you here in Sunnydale. They've since established their own base of operations elsewhere."

"How do you know this?" Sarah hissed under her breath.

"John told me."

"I did?"

"Not you."

"Oh. Future me."

"Yes. We're almost there," Cameron said as she led them on a right turn onto a street called Revello Drive.

They passed a number of houses that seemed perfectly ordinary. Sarah noticed that Cameron did not look at any of them until they passed number 1630, which had three small windows on the front door. "What's in that house?"

"Nothing yet," the Terminator said cryptically.

They passed one more house until they arrived at 1634. The place looked perfectly normal, save that it didn't have any lights on at this hour. _What hour is it, anyway?_ Sarah wondered.

"So, do we kick the front door down?" John asked.

"No. There are probably traps to stop an intruder. There will be a way." The gynoid stepped forward and found the doorbell, which was a rectangular button on a similarly-shaped protrusion. She took it in her fingers and moved the thing up, then down, and repeated the process in a pattern that Sarah assumed was a code of some kind.

The lights came on and the door clicked. "It's unlocked. We can go in," Cameron said.

Sarah stepped inside and found a modestly furnished home that felt like a place an ordinary family might live in. "I take it that there's more to this house than it looks?"

"Yes. There should be a full arsenal in the basement. Rations, clothing, and updates on regional activity should have been left here as well. There should also be computers. We'll need them to alter our records so that we can be legally recognized under an assumed name."

"Baum," John said.

"What are you talking about, John?" Sarah asked.

"Just came to my head as a cover name. You know? L. Frank Baum? Wrote-"

"The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," Sarah said with fond nostalgia. "We'll keep our first names. Easier to remember. What about you, Tin Man?" she mocked the machine. The nickname was appropriate. "How are you going to fit into this family?"

"She can by my sister," John said as if it was obvious.

"We look the part," Cameron chimed in.

Feeling overwhelmed. Sarah threw her hands up in the air. "Fine! Fine. Make it work. I'm going to check out the bedrooms and see if there are any clothes. John see if you can find the AC. It's… Aw, crap. How the hell are we going to pay bills to maintain this-"

"There's cash hidden throughout the house," Cameron answered simply.

"Right. Well, in that case, what's next? After clothing, that is?"

"School," Cameron said. "It all starts at Sunnydale High School."

"School? Really?" John asked. "Aren't there more important things?"

"No. It all starts there. I don't know how, but I know it starts there very soon."

Sarah was too upset to care about clothing at the moment. "What's so important at the high school? How do you know that Skynet starts there?"

"It sits on the mouth of Hell," Cameron stated simply.

A moment of silence followed her remarks. "I'm gonna put some clothes on now," Sarah decided.

* * *

><p>Beneath the earth, next to a pool of blood, Luke sat meditating, readying himself to call forth the Master once again. It was almost time.<p>

"Luke!" Darla cried, rushing into the room.

"Quiet," he said. "Be calm. What has you troubled?"

"We have a problem. A group of us were out on the hunt. There were three humans together, naked, and one was a girl. She killed seven of us on her own!"

Luke stood up and took notice of the fear in Darla's eyes. "The Slayer?"

"It can't be anyone else, Luke. What are we going to do?"

"We will proceed as planned, but with caution," Luke said calmly. "Knowledge is power, and you have brought that power to us. We know that the Slayer is here, but she does not know of our plans. And she will not know anything until it is too late."

* * *

><p>I don't own anything from Terminator or Buffy. I'm just borrowing the material.<p>

This story will probably not follow either show's chronology terribly religiously, if at all, though I will be using the entirety of both shows as inspiration and possible material. This story will be its own, however, and will not simply be "The Connors in the middle of the Buffy TV series. Also, I never saw the Angel series, so if I leave anything out form that show that wasn't in Buffy, that's why. The Season Eight comics will also not be covered.

Reviews are incredibly awesome and help me to write a better story. Please tell me what you like and don't like and how the story can be better. Also, I could use a beta-reader, if anyone is interested.

Many Thanks for reading! I hope you all enjoy!


	2. The First Day of School

Chapter II: The First Day of School

* * *

><p>"You've gone over the schematics? Exits and entrances memorized? You know your escape routes?"<p>

"Yes, mom," John said for what he could swear was the hundredth time today.

"And don't talk to anyone you don't have to. Don't draw attention to yourself. We have to stay-"

"Mom!" John protested from the back seat of the car. "It's a small town where if we try to go unnoticed, we'll just get noticed for that. We'll just keep our eyes open and look for a place to start the search."

"I can help with that," Cameron said from the front passenger seat.

"Do that," Sarah said as she pulled up to the front of the school. "Here you are at the mouth of Hell, as you put it. I didn't realize Terminators were religious."

"We're not."

John shared his mother's unease about Cameron's cryptic warnings about the school. She hadn't said more about the so called 'Hellmouth' other than that it existed. What she meant by it, John didn't know. "Doesn't look so bad."

"Looks can be deceiving, John. Look no further than right here," his mother said, gesturing to Cameron. "Just try to survive your first day, and we'll see where we go from there. Remember what happened last time you went to school."

"I'm not about to forget, mom. Mind if we get out now?"

Sarah sighed. "Sorry, John. It's the overprotective mom in me," she said with a small smile.

"I got that," he said, returning her smile. "See you later, mom," he said as he got out of the car.

Cameron opened her door and exited. "See you later, mom," she echoed.

Sarah looked murderous, but ignored the comment as it fit with their cover, and she drove off.

John looked around at the hustle and bustle of students in the bright sunlight. It seemed like a cheerful enough place. He began to walk forward, up the stairs towards the front entrance. "Well, here we are. Seems like that Light Brigade poem. Do you remember how that one goes, Cameron?"

"'Boldly they rode, and well,'" she quoted. "'Into the jaws of death, into the mouth of Hell, rode the six hundred.'"

"Yup. That's high school," John agreed.

"Excuse me, but could I have a moment?"

John turned to see a man with glasses, wearing tweed, looking at him and Cameron with something like curiosity. "Uh, sure," he said, casting an awkward glance at his protector. "What is it?"

"I just heard you quoting Tennyson, and I couldn't help but wonder what you meant by it?"

"High school is hell," Cameron said evenly as she observed the man. Her head titled slightly. "What else could I have meant?"

"N-nothing, of course. You are Buffy Summers, I take it?"

John was confused. "Who?"

"Cameron," his guardian said, extending her hand. "Cameron Baum."

"Oh. I'm terribly sorry. I'm Mr. Giles. I'm the new librarian," he said as he took Cameron's hand and shook it.

"We have a new librarian?" a new voice said. John looked to see a black-haired student about his age coming up. "Sorry to interrupt, but my best friend is _crazy_ into the whole school thing. Will! Over here!" he called before turning back to face them. "Hey. Uh, sorry to interrupt. You guys new here?"

"We just moved here," John said. "I'm John, and this is my sister Cameron."

"All right! Nice to meet ya!" the boy said cheerfully. "I'm Xander. Need any help, can't find the bathroom, looking for ways to escape detention-"

The librarian, Giles, cleared his throat.

"And I'm getting into trouble before the bell has rung, aren't I? Sorry about that, Mister?"

"Giles," he said. "And you are familiar with detention?"

Xander shrugged. "I have this problem that keeps pestering me. Punctuality is my sworn enemy, you see. Oh, here you are, Will."

Will turned out to be a rather cute girl with long red hair who had a rather nerd-ish look about her. Still, she seemed rather happy. "Hey, Xander. What's up?" she asked cheerfully.

"New librarian. Thought you might be-"

"Wow! Hi! I'm Willow! It's great to meet you, sir! I'm really a big fan of reading. Reading books, that is. Educational books. Also a bit of fiction and an occasional magazine from time to time, but mostly books that teach things. Yeah, that's me. Big into learning."

John, Cameron, and Giles stood silent for a moment.

"And I have this tendency to babble a bit when I'm nervous. Oh. I must be nervous now. I'm sorry! I don't do well in social situations I guess."

"Hey, it's okay," John said. His heart went out to the shy girl. "I know what it's like to not really be there, socially. I'm John. Just moved here. And this is Cameron."

"His sister," she said stoically.

"Hey! Nice to meet you! Wow! This is weird. People are talking to me and not rejecting me. This is-"

"Easy, Willow," Xander said. "Breathe, Will."

"Okay. Breathing now," she said through panted breath.

"Well, Willow, I've yet to unload all of my personal collection from the trip over here, but I hope you'll find some educational volumes. I was a curator at the British Museum for a time, so I've accumulated quite the collection."

"Of what?" Cameron asked.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Collection of what?"

"Why, of educational texts, of course." A bell could be heard. "That's the warning bell. You'd best get to your home rooms. I do hope to see you all later in the library."

"Great! Sounds like fun!" Willow said, a bright smile lighting up her face. "So, do you guys need help finding your homeroom?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah. It looks like Cameron and I are both in room 104."

"Hey! Same here! Xander, you too?"

"Yup! Takes more than an arbitrary computerized sorting process to keep us apart, Will."

"You're dating," Cameron said. It wasn't a question.

"What? Oh, no. No, not dating. I don't have a date," Willow said. "And certainly not Xander. Not that I don't like Xander. Just that you're my best friend. In a platonic sense that has nothing to do with anything else I might be thinking."

"You two do seem close," John said.

"We've been friends since we were about five," Xander said as he walked them into the building. "This way," he said as he led them down a hall. "So, what'd you think of our new British masterpiece, Cameron?" Xander said, raising his eyebrows a bit.

"He seems quiet," Cameron said, flashing a charming smile at Xander. John recognized it as the same flirtatious smile that she had used on him back in Red Valley. "But quiet isn't everything."

Xander snapped his fingers and smiled. "That's pretty awesome to hear. What with me not being the quietest individual and all."

"I noticed," Cameron replied.

"Now hold on there, you two. You can't be flirting just yet! You only just met a few minutes ago. Unless you didn't. Maybe you met months ago and there's been a covert affair going on behind my back. Not that it would be an affair since you wouldn't be cheating on anyone, Xander. But that's not because you're not charming and handsome and a good man and-"

"Calm down, Willow," John said with a laugh. "You're really funny, you know that?"

"I am? Really?" She seemed genuinely surprised.

"Yeah, you are. I think it's kinda cool how you list everything in detail very literally. Leaves no room for confusion."

"Heh. I never thought about it like that. Thanks!"

Xander wrapped either arm around Cameron and Willow. "I, personally, think that this year is off to a great start. This is gonna be one hell of a year."

As the four new friends turned into the classroom, Rupert Giles looked on from behind them. "You don't know how right you are."

* * *

><p>Again, I don't own anything.<p>

Reviews are like candy: always welcome and excellent to have.

If anyone wants to beta-read, let me know.

Many Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy!


	3. Enter the Slayer

Chapter III: Enter the Slayer

* * *

><p>Two weeks had come and gone since John and Cameron had started school, and while they were no closer to finding any clues on Skynet, their covers were intact, and they were both alive. Xander and Willow had turned out to be good friends, and the four of them were all social pariahs, it seemed. Guilt by association seemed to be the rule, and for some reason, John's only two friends were found wanting by the other students. <em>Idiots.<em>

Xander obviously had a crush on Cameron, and she had done nothing to discourage him. John couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy, though he knew it was ridiculous. Cameron was a machine, built to kill. _She's a Terminator. She doesn't have a soul, and she never will,_ John was forced to tell himself at least twice a day. _She's just keeping her cover._

Willow on the other hand was incredibly supportive of all of the rest of them, and didn't seem to let anything get to her. If John had to guess, she kept up a cheerful exterior as a way to hide whatever doubts she had. One girl in particular, Cordelia Chase, seemed to revel in picking on Willow, and by extension Xander, John, and Cameron.

"I don't see why you let her get to you," John said as they walked to first period together.

"Well," Xander said, "let's see. She's rich and attractive, and thus the envy of most of the girls in the school, and all the guys want to get with her. Well, most of them," he quickly corrected.

"She does dress rather well," Willow said quietly.

"Aren't there more important things to be worried about then how people dress? Cameron, you wear that purple leather jacket every day, despite the heat, and you don't let the teasing get to you."

"There wouldn't be any point," the Terminator agreed.

"And besides," John said, "even if looks were everything, it's not as if you're not pretty, Willow."

"Really?" the redhead said with wide eyes. "You- You think I'm pretty?"

John found himself at a loss for words, just realizing that he had come dangerously close to hitting on Willow. "Yeah. You're definitely easy on the eyes."

"Whoa, hold on there!" Xander said, sliding in between John and Willow. "Willow is a very special girl. You can't just go flattering her like that and complementing her with the praise she undoubtedly deserves." He turned back to Willow. "Can he?"

"Yes, Xander," Willow said with a playful punch on his arm. "And thank you, John. That was very noble of you. Being polite and complementary and all, I mean. It's nice to have someone treat me like that."

"Hey, Xander!" someone called from down the hall. It turned out to be Jesse, another of his friends. "Did you hear? New girl just enrolled."

"Another one? Huh. Go figure."

"You don't get many new students here?" John asked.

"Not really," Willow said. "You hear stories about weird stuff happening in this town. Tends to keep people away."

"What kind of weird stuff?" John asked. _Could this be what we're looking for?_

"People go missing, mostly. Not a whole lot, but it does happen."

"Do you know what happens to them?"

"New girl," Xander said, pointing down the hall.

The new girl in question was a short blonde who was rather pretty, though she seemed a bit quiet.

"Xander!" Willow teased. "Don't tell me you're gonna ditch Cameron just because someone new showed up?"

"What? No! No, of course not."

"It's all right," Cameron said. "You should talk to her. Get to know her. We all should."

Something in her voice told John that this was important. "Wait a minute. I think I've seen her," John said. "She just moved in…" He trailed off as the pieces fell into place. "… two houses down from us," he finished, remembering the empty house that Cameron had noticed when they had first arrived.

"And look who she's with," Xander said unhappily.

John looked and saw Cordelia Chase talking to the new girl. To her credit, the blonde didn't appear to be all that enthused with the Queen Bee of the high school as she took her leave from Cordelia through a pair of double doors.

"Hey, that's the library!" Willow said excitedly. "Maybe she's a fellow bookworm! Should we go say hi?"

"Seems like the right way to welcome someone, Will," Xander agreed.

"All right, then," John said. It would be good to make a new friend apart from Willow and Xander. Not that they weren't good friends, but it would be nice to expand his social circle.

Cordelia, unfortunately, was coming their way, followed by her little pack of idiotic followers. "Well, Xander! Willow! The Baum Brigade! How are you enjoying basking in the shame of lame?"

"You're in our way," Cameron said dangerously. "Move."

"What_ever!_" Chase said. "What are you going to do if I don't?"

"This." Cameron grabbed Cordelia by the arm and shoved her off to the side. She stumbled hard into a locker on the other side of the hall with a bang.

The other girls in the flock took frightened steps back and dispersed.

"Wow." Xander seemed appreciative. "That was… Wow! That was amazing. I'm going to treasure this moment."

"Yeah, Cameron's like the hulk," John said, though inwardly, he winced at the possible risk to their cover. This new girl had to be important for her to resort to violence. "You won't like her when she's angry."

"I'm never angry," Cameron said neutrally, continuing to the library.

"Hey, wait up!" Xander said, hurrying after him with Willow and John following.

They opened the library door just in time to hear a loud sound as Mr. Giles slammed a very heavy volume onto the counter as the new girl backed away. "That's not what I'm looking for," she said.

"Buffy Summers?" Cameron asked.

The blonde turned to face her and groaned.. "Not you, too."

"Wait a minute. Cameron, you know her?"

"Mr. Giles mistook me for you earlier, Buffy. It's good that you're here now."

"I think I missed the memo," Xander said. "We just stopped in to say hello. Welcome you to Sunnydale High and such."

"Mr. Harris," Giles began, "Really, I-"

"Welcome, welcome. Everybody's welcoming me, and everybody seems to want something!" Buffy said, clearly agitated.

"Whoa! Guys, check out this book," Willow said. John looked and was terrified to see the word "Vampyr" written on the cover. It actually looked more like it was metal nailed onto a very old book.

"Vampires," John said. "Great. Cameron, is there something you want to tell me?"

"Wait a moment," Giles said, looking from Cameron to Buffy and back again. "There are two?"

"Yes!" Xander said. "There are, in fact, two new girls at the school. Is that news of some sort? And what's with the freaky vampire book?"

"Nothing!" Buffy Summers protested as she stormed out of the library.

An awkward silence fell upon the library.

"Oh-kay. I'm a bit lost," Willow said. "This is an old book. I mean, really old. And- And it's about vampires. And that girl, Buffy, was acting all scared. And you, John, you think your sister knows something that you don't. And it's about vampires!"

"Are we really having a discussion about vampires?" Xander said. "Why are we talking about-"

"The mouth of Hell," John said.

"Yes! Why are we talking about the mouth of Hell?" Xander agreed. "Wait, what?"

"Mr. Giles mistook Cameron for that girl, Buffy, when we were quoting-"

"The Charge of the Light Brigade?" Willow guessed.

"Yes," Cameron confirmed. "Is there something we should know, Mr. Giles?" Cameron asked in a low voice. She took a step towards him that John understood to be a threat.

Giles cleared his throat and took off his glasses to clean them. "What do you know of vampires, Mr. Baum?"

John didn't know if this was something he could share, but Cameron saved him the trouble of worrying about it. "We were attacked by a party of vampires when we first got into town," she said. "I killed them."

"K-killed?" Willow was going pale. "You- Y-you _killed_-"

"She killed a soulless demon, Willow," Mr. Giles said gently. "Or so she claims. If she's telling the truth, then she saved her family's life." He took a breath. "This doesn't make sense. I was told that the Slayer was-"

"The _what?_" Xander asked.

"I've said too much," Giles said before regaining his composure. "This is a school library, and if you don't have any business here, then please be on your way."

Willow seemed to be struggling to keep herself upright. "Oh. Okay. I guess we'll just go, then."

John rushed to her side and held her hand, she looked so fragile. "You okay, Willow?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll be fine. I think."

"Come on, Will. Let's get some fresh, non-library air," he said as the three of them walked towards the exit.

Cameron was still staring at the librarian. "Mr. Giles," she said.

"Y-yes, Ms. Baum?"

Cameron adjusted her bag and moved to join John and the others. "I'll be back."

* * *

><p>Buffy took a seat in her history classroom and sulked. Sunnydale High really was hell. Cordelia had tried to be nice, but it was clear that she was a total bitch. The librarian knew what she was, and hadn't minced words. Hadn't even treated her like a person. Just the Slayer, nothing more. And those other students who found her at that particular moment were also bothering her. Especially that girl in the purple jacket, Cameron. She clearly knew something. From the way they were all talking, Cameron might be the Slayer. But that couldn't be. Could it?<p>

_Please, let it be her. Please let me just have some semblance of a normal life!_ She heard the classroom door open and saw the four students from earlier enter. Cameron and the guy she knew were looking at her seriously, but the red-haired girl and her friend each gave her a smile and a friendly wave. The girl looked a bit embarrassed. Buffy couldn't help but let a small smile reach her lips. Maybe they had been trying to say hello after all.

The bell rang and a tall teacher entered the room. He had blonde hair and black eyes, and his face seemed strangely impassive. "Mr, Cox is ill today. My name is Franklin."

_Franklin, eh? First name, last name, only name?_ A few of the students exchanged looks and chuckles, as if thinking of how best to pick on the substitute teacher.

"Let's take attendance, shall we? Paul Albert?"

"Here."

"Heidi Barrie?"

"Here."

"Cameron Baum?"

Silence greeted him, and Buffy turned to look at the girl from earlier, who had a neutral look on her face. Almost like the teacher himself.

"Cameron?" he said again.

"Here," she finally said.

_What's her deal?_ Buffy wondered.

"John? Do we have a John Baum here?"

Another moment's silence.

"Here," the boy who knew Cameron said. He looked very tense.

The teacher smiled a small bit. "Good. Lisa Campiti?"

"Here."

"Gwen Ditchik?"

"Here."

Buffy let out a breath. For a moment, she thought she'd have to try and stop a fight between those two siblings and the teacher.

"Alexander Harris?"

"Right here."

_So that's his name. Seems nice enough. Casual, easygoing. Looks like a fun guy._

"Harmony Kendall?"

"Here!" said the overly-perky blonde who seemed to cling to Cordelia, who was not in this class. _Thank God!_

"Guy Matthews?"

"Here."

"Willow Rosenberg?"

"Oh. Here!" the redhead said, raising her hand.

"Excellent," the teacher said. His hand came up and it was holding a gun!

"Get down, Willow!" someone shouted

The teacher fired, but it missed the girl who was screaming, along with the rest of the class, who were rushing for the door.

Buffy didn't know what was up, but she wasn't about to lets some crazy substitute teacher get away with murder. _Mr. Cox is ill my ass._ "Hey! Franklin? You don't want her. You want me!"

The teacher turned his head to face her for a moment, and he didn't blink. He then turned back to Willow, but she was gone. The boy, John Baum, was rushing her out of there.

Franklin began to follow, but Buffy got on her desk and jumped on him, tackling him to the ground. A foot kicked the gun away, and Buffy saw that the foot belonged to Cameron.

Franklin got up with ease and threw Buffy against the wall with strength that no human should have. _No one but the Slayer. No one but me._ Getting to her feet, Buffy ran after him, but he was already hindered by Cameron who was engaged in a strange sort of combat with him.

Buffy stood hypnotized for a moment as she watched them fight. It was nothing like her acrobatic confrontations with vampires. They were just swinging their limbs and hitting each other. There was no subtlety to their movements at all. Just brute force. And Cameron was holding her own against a larger, stronger-than-humanly-possible man as if she really _was_ a slayer.

All of the other students had made a run for it. _Good. No one else to get in the way. _"Hey, Franklin!" she called. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size! Wait, that came out wrong. Why don't you pick on me, even though I'm not your size and am really a lot shorter than you?"

The teacher turned his head, which only allowed Cameron to hit him without retaliation for a moment. Not waiting anymore, Buffy charged into the fray and began walloping on Franklin herself. Unlike Cameron, Buffy employed a more agile fighting style. More importantly, she had the strength to back it up. The impact her fists made didn't feel like it was hitting muscle or bone. It felt harder.

Franklin fought back without a sound. He didn't even grunt from the impact their fists and feet were making. "Go down, you son of a bitch!" Buffy said with a punch that sent Franklin flying down the hallway. He sprawled out his limbs and slid on the floor, carrying his gun with him. Eventually, he hit a wall of lockers.

"Whew. What the hell was that? Took forever to take him-"

Franklin got up, checked his gun, and walked out to the parking lot.

"Down?" Buffy said, confused.

"He's after Willow Rosenberg," Cameron said. "We have to stop him."

"You looked like you could handle him pretty well."

"I'm not the Slayer," Cameron said. "You are. I need your help."

_She knows! _ "How do you know what I am?"

"Doesn't matter. We can stop it, and we will. Let's go," Cameron said, running after Franklin.

Buffy shook her head for a moment before following. _Did she say we have to stop _it_? What is he?_

* * *

><p>"Come on, Willow! Xander, keep running!" John called out to them, bit Willow was tired of running. She had never run so much in her life. Let alone run <em>for<em> her life.

"Why does he want to kill me?" she said.

"I don't know," John said. "You must be a threat to it."

"What?" Xander said, stopping to catch his breath. "Willow? A threat? To _it_? You mean 'him,' right?"

"No, I don't," John said. "Look Willow. I know you're scared. But you have to trust me. These things have come after me, too. I'm still here, but we can't fight it yet. But we're going to."

"Wait," Willow said. "Where's Cameron? Oh my God! We left Cameron behind!"

"We have to go back!" Xander said. "What if he… What if she's…"

"Hey!" John shouted, and Willow winced. She had never been more terrified. "Cameron is the only thing standing between it and us. She's our best hope. You saw what she did to Cordelia in the hall, right? That was nothing. That was less than nothing. Now let's go! We have to get to my house before it catches us."

"Why?" Xander asked, sounding exhausted.

"Yeah," Willow agreed. "Not that I'm not grateful, but unless you have a gun of your own at your place, then… Oh. You do, don't you?"

"We were prepared, just in case," John said. "I thought it would be coming for me. I swear, I had no idea anyone else would get involved. But we have to hurry."

"I can't," Willow said, and she believed it. "I'm not strong or brave or anything. I haven't done anything. I'm not going to do anything! I'm nothing!"

"Don't say that, Will," Xander said. "You're scared. So am I. But he's just one-"

"Terminator."

"W-what? John?"

"It's a Terminator. A killing machine. It doesn't have emotions. It doesn't eat or drink or rest. It doesn't know pity or remorse or fear. And it will not stop. Ever! Until you are dead. Do you understand?"

"N-no. I don't. I don't know what to do?"

"Yeah, John," Xander panted. "What do we do?"

"Right now, just come with me if you want to live."

* * *

><p>Sarah was looking through the classifieds for the fiftieth time today, hoping to see something worth doing to earn some money and maintain a cover. The money they had wouldn't last forever, and she doubted working at the Doublemeat Palace would carry a lifestyle heavy on gunpowder.<p>

Someone knocked on the door. A lot. Suddenly scared, Sarah grabbed a shotgun and moved towards the door slowly, quietly.

"Mom! It's me! Open up! Hurry!" she heard John shout.

_It might not be John,_ she warned herself. She checked the peephole, and it was indeed John, along with two other exhausted teenagers.

She opened the door. "In," she commanded.

The two others looked scared of her, but John ushered them in. Sarah closed the door. "John, what happened?"

"Terminator," he said through panting. "Came for her."

"Her?" Sarah asked, totally confused. "Not you?"

"Who are you people?" the male teenager asked.

"We're the ones who are about to save your lives. John, what happened?" she repeated.

"Just like Cromatie," he said. "Killed the teacher, took his place-"

"What?" the girl said softly, confused. "He killed Mr. Cox?"

Sarah looked at the girl and wondered what In the world Skynet wanted with her. She was small and shy and terrified. _Like I used to be._

"First thing to know," Sarah said. "Not he. _It._ Can't be reasoned with, bargained with, can't beg for mercy, can't pay it off. Nothing stops it short of destruction." She looked back to John. "Cameron?"

"She's fighting it."

"How?" the girl said. "How can your sister- Agh!"

"Will? Willow, what is it?" the other boy said.

"I'm bleeding," she said, touching her leg and coming away with blood. "I must have tripped, and-"

"Oh, no," John said.

"What?" the other boy said. "What is it now?"

"You gave it a trail to follow," Sarah said. "It's on its way here. Car. Now!"

"This way, guys," John said, helping the girl, Willow, to stand and get to the car.

"John, can you drive?"

"Yeah, mom. You gonna take the back?"

"Wait, you can drive? Aren't you a bit young for a license?"

"No license, Xander. Doesn't mean I can't drive."

"Why- Why aren't you driving, Ms, Baum?"

"I'm gonna stop it from following us if Cameron fails. Now move!"

* * *

><p>Buffy sat in the front passenger seat of the Jeep that Cameron had hot-wired to chase after the substitute teacher. This was <em>not <em>how she'd expected her first day of school to be like. "So remind me, Cameron. What's the plan again?"

"We find Franklin. We terminate him."

"Right. All in favor of the termination of bad guys. I was more thinking _how_ are we going to do that. Do you know what he is? He's not human, I know that much. Is he a demon of some kind? Does he have a weak spot?"

"His CPU. Destroying or removing it will eliminate the threat."

"CPU? You're telling me he's a _robot?_"

"Cybernetic organism," Cameron corrected her. "Living tissue over a metal endoskeleton."

"Uh-huh. So, how do we get to the CPU? Where is it?

"A port on the right side of its head. We need to disable it long enough to cut through the skin layer, pry open the port, and extract it."

"Oh-kay. That sounds a bit hard. How are we supposed to keep it still for that long?"

"An overload will disable it for one hundred-twenty seconds."

"Overload? You mean we zap it?"

"Yes."

"All right. How do we do that?"

"Not yet."

"What? What do you mean 'not yet?' That thing took more of a beating than I've seen anything take, and it is after that girl, Cameron! Why is it after that girl?"

"I don't know. But we aren't equipped to deal with it. Not here. Not yet." Cameron paused. "He's here."

"Where? I don't see any-" The car suddenly shook from an impact, and Buffy looked behind her to see a black truck barreling towards them.

Cameron pulled into the other lane and let Franklin pass them. Buffy looked out the window and saw him not even look at them before continuing. A moment later, they were behind him.

"Okay. How does this thing know where to go?"

"Blood. Someone left a trail. I think we can stop it. But I'll need you to drive."

"What? But I don't know how, all I can do is-"

"I'll need you to keep your foot on the accelerator pedal. Make sure the car doesn't move."

"Uh, problem! That's what the accelerator does! It makes the car _move._"

"Not this time," Cameron said, letting the truck gain a lead.

"What are you doing, Cameron? You are letting him get away!"

"No," Cameron said. "It's leading us to its termination."

* * *

><p>The T-888 unit, designation 'Franklin,' pursued the blood trail that Willow Rosenberg had left. It turned onto Rovello Drive and stopped at number 1634, leading into the front door. Franklin stopped the car outside of the house and strode towards the door, checking the gun once more. It was ready.<p>

The blood trail led to a couch in a living area. The house appeared to be deserted. The blood appeared to pool at the bottom of the couch before leading towards a door. Franklin followed the trail.

The door opened into an empty garage. A quick scan showed nothing of interest.

A revving engine caused him to turn towards the closed garage door.

A Jeep burst through the door to the driveway and came straight at him. He was pinned against the wall. Buffy Summers was in the driver's seat, apparently accelerating the vehicle into him, attempting to crush him. He struggled to free himself. He could not.

Cameron Baum crawled out through the windshield and cut into his cranium's outer sheath with a box cutter. A screwdriver was then in her hand, and his CPU port was exposed. She reached for a pair of pliers. He was terminated.

* * *

><p>John was using the payphone at the gas station calling home. He hoped that they had planned out this contingency right.<p>

"Hello?" Cameron's voice said.

John pressed the pound key. "Cameron, it's me."

John heard the press of the star key. "John. Are you safe?"

John let out a sigh of relief. "We all are. You?"

"We're also safe. Franklin has been terminated."

"Wait a minute, Cameron? _We?_ Who else is there?"

"Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. Come home, John. We have a lot to talk about."

* * *

><p>I own nothing from Terminator or Buffy. I'm just here on their playground.<p>

Reviews are happy things that I like. If you have any thoughts, I'd love to hear them.

I might need a beta-reader, so if anyone is interested, please shoot me a PM.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy the story!


	4. Revelations

Chapter IV: Revelations

* * *

><p>The living room at 1634 Revello Drive was full of much unspoken tension. Willow didn't really know what was going on, and she didn't think Xander did either. But everyone else knew something. John wasn't just a friend. Somehow he had known that the man – no, the robot – was after her. He'd helped her escape, and his mom was some sort of buff warrior woman who was seriously exercising her Second Amendment rights.<p>

Cameron was something else entirely. She was both like and unlike John and his mom. She'd seemed mostly normal at school, except for the whole pushing-Cordelia-into-the-wall thing. _Though that was kinda cool._ But now her face was a mask of neutrality. Willow didn't consider herself to be the best judge of people, but she knew right now that Cameron Baum was _not_ someone she wanted angry at her.

For one thing, Cameron drove. According to the new girl, Buffy, she drove really well. Like, not at all how you'd think a teenager would drive. And then there was Buffy to think about. She hadn't said much, but the blonde girl couldn't seem to decide whether she wanted to stay away from Cameron or get closer to her.

Xander finally broke the silence. "Okay, just so we're clear: that's a robot," he said, gesturing over his shoulder to the broken thing in the garage. "And it wanted to kill Willow. Why would anyone or anything want to kill Willow?"

"That's a good question," John said seriously. He didn't look at all like the average high school student now. He turned to his sister. "Do you know why 'someone' would want to kill her?"

"Okay," Willow interjected. "Can I just say that you guys are seeming _way_ too comfortable about the whole people trying to kill me thing. Not that you didn't protect me and stuff, which was really brave of you. A-and thank you! But- You aren't even surprised by this, are you?"

"They didn't look like it," Buffy said. The short blonde girl hadn't said much, but all Willow knew was that she had taken on a freakin' killer robot with only another sophomore girl for help. "When the Franklin thing took roll call, Cameron and John were both looking pretty tense. John looked ready to bolt when his name was up."

Buffy stood up from the wooden chair she'd been sitting on and moved into John's personal space. "So why does the new boy in a small town _expect_ someone to come looking to kill him?" she growled to his face.

Cameron took Buffy by one shoulder and pulled her back, feet dragging and everything. _Whoa! Crazy strength there! Really don't wanna mess with that._ "We didn't know what to expect," Cameron said very softly. "But we've prepared for it."

"So I see," Xander said, eyes drifting to the front of the house where Mrs. Baum stood guard by the window, shotgun held firmly in one hand.

"B-but, why would someone want to kill you, John? And why would they send a robot?" Willow was all for advancing computer science, but not in the shooting and killing kind of way.

John sighed, and he really did look tired now. "I want to tell you, Willow. And you, Xander." He turned to glare at his sister. "But unfortunately, I don't know what I can tell you without Cameron killing you, so I think it's best if we have her tell us what we're all doing here. And we _are_ all supposed to be here, aren't we, Cameron?"

"Hang on! Time out!" Buffy said, looking a bit warily at Cameron. "What's with the 'supposed to be' stuff? Please tell me this isn't _more_ mystical destiny crap? Ugh, I thought that was all over and done with," she said as she collapsed to the floor, long hair hanging around her face like a curtain.

"There's no destiny," Sarah said. Willow turned to stare at the hardened woman. She hadn't looked their way, but there was no doubt that she was very much aware of the conversation.

"There's destiny," Cameron said. "No fate, but there is destiny."

"Oh, God! Just shoot me!" Buffy whined.

"Please don't tempt her, Buffy" John said impatiently. "And enough with the stalling, Cameron. What's going on here?"

"I, too, would like to be in the knowing of the goings-on of the here and now," Xander said.

"W-what he said," Willow said, still not sure what to be thinking about all of this.

Cameron looked around the room from her standing post in the center of all of them. Xander sat next to Willow on a sofa, John stood in the corner, Buffy sat on the floor, and Sarah stood by the window.

"Willow, Xander, don't move from the sofa. Don't want to form a pentagram by mistake. Don't know what would happen."

"P-pentagram?" Willow said, even more lost than before. "You mean like a magic diagram or something?"

"Yes," Cameron said flatly. "This town stands on top of the Mouth of Hell. Vampires, demons, and other evil things are attracted to this place. Or they come from this place. And unless we stop the right evil before it's too late, the world will burn in the fires of Judgment Day."

As the room fell silent, Willow was torn between wanting to groan and wanting to faint. On the one hand, Cameron was coming off as one of those crazy religious people who go door-to-door proclaiming 'The End is Nigh' and such. On the other hand, scary robot guy trying to kill her.

"You've said this before, Cameron," John said. "But what do you mean when you say 'Hellmouth'? You've been acting a lot more religious since we got here."

"No, John," his mother said. Willow turned to look at the black-haired woman again, and now she did look their way. "They don't do religion. They don't have souls. She means it literally, and my nightmares make a lot more sense now. I think."

"You have nightmares, too?" Buffy asked the older woman.

Mrs. Baum shook her head. "Nightmare. Only one, every night. Then again, I'm no Vampire Slayer."

Xander held up a hand as if he was asking a question in a classroom. "Time out, please? Are we speaking in tongues here? Hellmouth, Judgment Day, Vampire Slayer. I mean, really? Who are you people?"

"Hey! Not one of them!" Buffy protested.

"But you do know something about vampires?" John asked. "Considering that a gang of them attacked us when we got here, I'd like to know more about how to kill them if we have to face them again."

"V-vampires?" Willow asked, wondering how the conversation had shifted from killer robots to killer other things. "As in the guys who turn into bats and then swoop down and suck your blood?"

"Ugh!" Buffy seemed upset, and she rolled her eyes. "Vampires do _not_ turn into bats. Not that I've seen anyway. But they do suck your blood. That's their idea of food and drink, generally in a human-shaped package. They're soulless animals who care only about themselves. And speaking of which, Cameron, did I hear your mom say you don't have a soul?"

"That's a terrible thing to say!" Willow piped up, the comment only just now hitting her. "What kind of mom tells her daughter something like that?"

"Not my daughter," Sarah said flatly.

"Oh, so she's adopted. That just means you get to insult her and call her names and pick on her? Why-"

"Just hold on a sec, Willow, was it?" Buffy asked.

The redhead nodded. "Okay. Holding on now."

"Let me try to explain what I am, and then I'll try to explain what Cameron is. Maybe. I'm the Vampire Slayer. One girl in all the world, she alone will stand against the forces of evil and all that wonderful nonsense you read about in crappy fantasy novels. Well, hey! Guess what? It's true, and it's me! Yay me," Buffy said before she slumped back into a wooden chair. She didn't look too happy.

"So, what?" Xander asked. "You're some kind of superhero? What can you do? Can you fly? X-ray vision? Have you been peeking in the boy's locker room, young lady?"

Despite the tension, a small wave of giggles went around the room. Only Sarah and Cameron didn't laugh. "Well," Buffy said. "This would be so much easier if I could- Wait. Cameron, do you mind if I throw you across the room? I think it would answer a lot of questions without so much talking."

"Whoa! Buffy!" Willow said. "Look, I'm sorry if we sorta ambushed you in the library earlier. We really were just trying to say 'hi,' you know? New student and such is kind of a big deal in Sunnydale. Three in one year is like super-big!" _And I'm getting the feeling that it may be more like mega-ultra big. I don't like this feeling. I don't think I do, anyway._

Cameron just stepped forward towards Buffy. The two girls just sort of looked at each other. Buffy's look was more of a glare, while Cameron's was more one of curiosity. "Don't worry," Cameron said. "I don't bruise easily."

Buffy smirked. "Didn't think so." A hand went to Cameron's arm, and then the girl was flying across the room, though her body didn't flail and she didn't make a sound. Cameron sailed a good few meters before hitting a bookcase. Said bookcase broke under Cameron's weight, and Cameron herself looked to be at a rather awkward angle.

"Holy shit!" Xander exclaimed. "Cameron!" he yelled as he went to her side. "Cameron, are you okay?" he said as he crouched next to her.

"Oh, no," Sarah said. "John, don't tell me the kid has a thing for Cameron?"

"Hey! 'The kid' is right here!" Xander protested.

Cameron, meanwhile, got to her feet, looking none the worse for wear. "Nothing wrong, Xander. No need to worry."

"Uh, _yes_ need to worry!" Buffy yelled indignantly. "Don't you think it's a bit odd that she can just stand up from that so nonchalantly?"

"Uh, no offense, Buffy," Willow said carefully, "but you did kinda throw her across the room. W-with one hand. I'm kinda more worried about that right now. N-not that I'm angry at you or anything. No, nothing like that. A bit scared, maybe. And, and oh, God! Please don't hurt me!"

* * *

><p>Buffy watched as John went to Willow's side and put a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. After watching Cameron go up against Franklin, she had an idea of what John's sister was, but that wasn't what was bothering her right now. She was the Vampire Slayer, even if she didn't want to be. She was the person that all the nasty things out there were supposed to be scared of.<p>

Instead, all she'd done was to terrify the poor girl who had done nothing to her other than try to welcome her to her new home. _And oh, yeah! She's also been singled out by a killer robot and shot at! Smooth, Summers. Real smooth._

"How did you do that?" John's mom asked softly from her post by the window.

Buffy had her back turned to the window, but she sighed. "Like I said. Chosen One and such. Comes with a package. Stronger, faster, heal quicker, you know." She shrugged and turned to face the woman. "Nothing to get-"

Sarah was pointing the shotgun directly at her, and Buffy guessed that she wouldn't hesitate to use it if she thought she had to. "-excited about?" The blonde raised her hands in the air slowly. _That's right. Just don't look threatening. Don't provoke the crazy lady, Summers. Just breathe._

"John," the boy's mother said, not moving her gaze, "get a knife. We need to see if she's telling the truth."

"How, exactly, is a knife going to be proving if she's super strong?" Xander asked. "I think we kinda got that one figured out."

"I heard her, kid," Sarah said. "Stronger, faster, heals quicker. Just like Cameron. Just like your substitute teacher."

Buffy winced. _So I was right. Still, she looks a lot less like a killer robot than the big guy. Wouldn't a killer robot be stronger if it was bigger?_

She heard Xander sigh with indignity. "Okay, Mrs. Baum. First, can you please stop with the 'kid' already? I'm Xander. That's like Alexander, but without the first three letters. It's my name. Second, Cameron, you're a superhero too? Just like-" He trailed off. "What did she mean, 'just like the substitute'?"

John returned from the kitchen and handed a steak knife to his mother.

"W-what are you doing?" Willow asked. "John, why is your mom about to cut into Buffy?"

"She wants to see if she bleeds," Cameron answered. "Franklin had blood, but he doesn't bleed."

Realization suddenly hit Buffy. "Whoa! You want to cut into me just to make sure I'm not a robot? I mean, if I wanted to hurt you, wouldn't I be, you know, hurting you?"

"Sarah's paranoid, Buffy," Cameron said calmly. "I know what you are, but no one else does. They need to be sure. And they don't trust me."

"Because you're _one of them!_" Buffy shrieked. "Why would they trust you?"

Sarah grabbed the blonde's right wrist and made a quick, small slash across her arm.

"Ahh! What the hell?" she yelled, her left hand instinctively going to cover the bleeding cut.

John let out a sigh of relief. "Sorry, Buffy. We had to be sure."

Sarah put the knife down on a small table. "No sense in letting her bleed more than she has to. John, get a medkit?"

"On it," he said.

"So, that's it?" Buffy asked angrily. "Just cut me, see if I bleed, and all of a sudden we're best friends?"

"Not yet," Cameron said cryptically.

* * *

><p>"Getting back to the 'she's one of them' outburst," Xander said warily, suddenly even more unsure of himself than he had been, "does this mean that I've been hanging out with one new student and his not-sister who is really a killer robot?"<p>

"Cybernetic organism," Cameron corrected him, her face showing no emotion. "Living tissue over metal endoskeleton."

"S-sorry," Willow said, "but, isn't a cyborg a person with mechanical improvements? No offense, but I don't think any part of you technically counts as an organism. What with the not being organic and stuff. A-and I'm really talking to a robot, aren't I? Uh, thanks for not trying to kill us, I guess."

Xander shook his head. "Okay, cyborg, robot, whatever. Not sure it matters. What matters is that this is _so awesome!_ I mean, I'm friends with a mechanical person! Cameron, I hope I'm not freaking you out, but this is cool beyond belief! _You_ are cool beyond belief!"

"Xander!" Sarah snapped. "Shut up. You're not talking to a person. You're talking to a killing machine. They kill. It's what they do. It's _all_ they do. Don't forget that."

"Uh, sorry, ma'am," Xander said with what might have been genuine apology, "but Cameron was kinda helping to save us, so I'm gonna go and say she's on our side."

"Don't let her get to you, Xander," John said, returning with a medical kit. "Here, Buffy. Take the hand off your wound so I can clean it. Uh, please," he said meekly.

The blonde girl seemed to relax a bit. "Thank you, John," she said with somewhat exaggerated politeness. Xander guessed that John's cool head and manners were a big factor in them all not being killed by any of the freaky super women in the room.

"You're welcome," he said as he placed some gauze over her cut. "Willow? Could you pass me some of the medical tape?"

"Huh? Oh, sure!" she said. As she moved to help, Xander couldn't help but feel a swell of pride for Willow. He'd always known she was made of stronger stuff than she gave herself credit for. The fact that she hadn't totally broken down after everything told him that he had a truly awesome best friend. _Or else we're both totally insane. One or the other._

"Okay, just to clear some things up," Xander said, feeling that there were still too many unanswered questions. "Vampires are real. You," he said, pointing to Buffy, "are the one who slays the vampires. This is a good thing. I prefer my blood inside of me. And you," his finger shifted to point at Cameron, "are a robot. Do you mind if I call you that?"

"No. I don't mind," she said without emotion.

"Right. So, Slayer. Robot. Three teenagers. Angry mom with a shotgun. Am I missing anything so far?"

John looked somewhere between a groan and a laugh. "Uh, no. I think you've got that covered, Xander."

"Cool. Thanks, John. Now, onto the things that fall into the category of not-knowing-yet: Hellmouth. Judgment Day. Vaguely religious words coming from a robot. Not so much with the making of sense. Could someone please do with a bit of explaining?"

John looked to his mom and his sister – or whatever she was – and back to Xander. "You know," he said, "I wasn't kidding when I said I wasn't sure what I could tell you without Cameron killing you. You should probably be asking her these things."

Xander blinked, not quite sure what to make of that. Cameron seemed so nice. Then again, she also seemed so human. "Uh, okay. Cameron. Everything I just asked, only at you now. Answers, por favor?"

"Xander!" Willow said happily. "I thought you said you didn't know Spanish, you big faker!" she teased.

"I don't, Will, really," he said with a chuckle. "I just know a few words. Hola. Gracias. Yo quiero Taco Bell. Not much else. But, no more distractions! Cameron. Uh, answers, please? And also no killing, if you don't mind?"

Cameron gave Xander a small smile before moving away from him to stand closer to the others, the sophomore boy following behind. "Sunnydale was built over a Hellmouth: a portal between this dimension and one inhabited by demons. It's not open, but it is active."

"L-like a volcano, you mean?" Willow asked, her voice shaking. "Like, it's not erupting, but it could? A-and with demons instead of lava?"

"Not exactly," Cameron said. "It's active status attracts supernatural forces and beings to this area. Vampires, demons, spirits, and other things are drawn here by the Hellmouth."

Xander started doing some metaphorical math in his head. "So, when someone disappears here, as people are wont to do more so than we'd like, it's a demon doing it?"

"Makes perfect sense," Buffy said, sulking. "I move to get away from the vampires, and I run into an infestation of them. I guess they really weren't kidding about this whole Chosen One thing."

"Don't worry," Cameron said. "You won't have to face it on your own."

"I won't?" Buffy said curiously.

"She won't?" Sarah challenged.

"O-of course not!" Willow said more forcefully than Xander had heard her talk in a long time. "If there are demons and vampires and killer robots and stuff out there, then it'd be stupid to fight all of that by yourself. We'll help, Buffy! I-it's the least we can do after you helped save us today. A-and you seem really nice, too! And a bit lonely, I think. But I don't want you to be! Lonely, that is. U-unless you'd rather hang out with Cordelia, which I would totally get and not hold against you. Even if she is kind of mean and nasty. B-but that's not you! A-and I-"

John had been smiling throughout Willow's nervous babble, but he put a hand over her mouth as he chuckled. "Breathe, Willow. Take a break. No one will hurt you if you stop talking, I promise."

Xander smiled and gave a thumbs up. "That's my Willow," he said proudly. "And, yeah, Buffy. We really do owe you. Not that we only want to be your friends just because we owe you. I mean, we were gonna try to be nice even before we knew you were a superhero. That's just an added bonus. Except, you don't seem to see it that way, so I'm gonna shut up now."

* * *

><p>"Yeah, Buffy," John said. "You're not alone. You probably won't believe me, but I kinda know how you feel." And he really did, for once in his life, know how someone else was feeling. It wasn't easy to relate to people going about their lives in blissful ignorance. Being singled out since birth for a greater destiny wasn't something he could really share with anyone else. <em>Until now, and she really believes it. And Cameron seems convinced, which means that there's a story she hasn't told us yet.<em>

The petite blonde gave a small huff, but smiled all the same. "Thank you, really. This- This really means a lot to me. When I tried to help at my old school, they kicked me out."

"What? Why would they do that?" Willow asked. John smiled at the red-haired girl. She was, he imagined, like his own mom must have been before that day when she had her first run-in with a Terminator. _She's kind and innocent, but tough underneath. And cute, too. Oh my God! Am I really comparing a cute girl to my mother? And does this mean I like her? Ah, crap._

To John's surprise, Buffy looked a bit abashed. "Well, I did kind of, uh, burndownthegym," she said very quickly.

Xander's mouth came open a bit. "Oh." John mentally echoed the sentiment. "Was the gym full of evil nasties?" the other boy asked.

"Yuh-huh."

"In that case, good for you, bad for them," Xander said as if that settled the matter.

Another awkward silence followed. "So," Willow said after a while, "Buffy is here to fight the supernatural evilness, since she's been Chosen or something. And you guys are here because…?"

John shared a look with his mom and with Cameron. Sarah seemed to be keeping her mouth firmly shut, while Cameron looked at him expectantly. _She is a weird one. Not bad, but unusual. Not your run-of-the-mill Terminator, to be sure._ "Well," John began, hoping he wouldn't sound like a complete idiot, "according to, uh, reliable sources," _How dumb does that sound, _"the world is going to suffer a nuclear apocalypse at some point in the future, and we think that whatever is responsible comes from Sunnydale." _Gee, that didn't sound idiotic at all._

"Ah." Xander had a sagely look on his face. "So, you are also in the business of crusading against evil. Vague, ill-defined evil from unnamed sources, but evil all the same."

"Not vague," Cameron said. "Very specific evil."

"Cameron," Sarah warned.

"There are books in the school library. Tomes and volumes that could give us information we don't have," the gynoid argued without passion.

"Hmph. You're saying a demon or something like that is actually Skynet?" Sarah scoffed.

"Possibly," Cameron said. "Probably. We never learned why Skynet turned on humanity. It just did."

"Wait," John interrupted. "I thought it was self-defense."

"If it was," she countered, "cyber-warfare against the United States government would be more efficient and less likely to provoke armed resistance."

"Time out!" Buffy cried, forming a T with her hands. "Go back, rewind. What's Skynet? And armed resistance against what?"

Sarah sighed before putting the shotgun down on a table. A collective sigh of relief was released from around the room. "Skynet," she began, "is a supercomputer that will come online on April 19, 2011. Two days later, it'll launch a nuclear assault against mankind. That's what the survivors will call Judgment Day. We're here to stop it before it can come into being."

"Whoa!" Willow was visibly taken aback. "And here I thought computers were cool. But, I'm confused. This whole Skynet thing hasn't even happened yet. How do you know it's even going to happen at all? Let alone on an exact date?"

"What do you think made Franklin?" Sarah countered. "What do you think made Cameron? That kind of tech doesn't exist yet. We're trying to prevent it from ever being made."

"So," Xander said, "They're from the future?"

John sighed. "Yeah. They're from the future."

"Oh. I guess that makes sense. Kinda. Does that make sense, Willow?"

"Uh, maybe?"

Someone knocked on the door. Sarah and Cameron were instantly alert, and Buffy seemed ready for combat a moment later. John quickly ushered Xander and Willow into the garage to be ready to flee if they had to.

* * *

><p>Rupert Giles had been terrified to hear gunfire in the school. And it had come from the Slayer's classroom. He might not know her, but she was the Chosen One, and she was his charge.<p>

_She's also a young girl who's clearly terrified of what's to come,_ he told himself. She had certainly seemed uneasy when he had confronted her. And then those other four students had made things infinitely more complicated.

He had helped the staff do a headcount of all the students only to find that a number were missing, including young Miss Summers, the two Baum children, Miss Rosenberg and Mr. Harris. He'd looked up the addresses of the five students and had found that the Summers and Baum residences were quite close together.

Getting out of the car, he couldn't help but notice a small fleck of red on the pavement. _Dried blood, it seems._ It was hard to see, but there was a trail leading to 1634 Revello Drive, which he seemed to recall was the Baum household. _If the Slayer is here, then she may be injured. She'll need my help._

Walking up the front, he knocked on the door. After waiting patiently for a few seconds, the door opened to reveal a black-haired woman holding a large firearm. More importantly, it was pointed at him.

"Oh, not you again!" the Slayer said from inside. "Are you gonna bleed him too?" she asked the older woman.

"Not a bad idea," she said. "Cameron, hold him down."

_Bleed me?_ "What? What are you doing, madam?" he protested.

He didn't have a chance to say much more. Young Cameron Baum appeared and grabbed onto him with surprising strength. Without another word, Giles was yanked inside, and the door to 1634 Revello Drive shut firmly behind him.

* * *

><p>Second verse, same as the first. I don't own anything!<p>

Many Thanks to all of you for reading this story and making me feel like I've written something worth reading. You guys are the best!

Reviews are always appreciated and helpful. So, if you have anything at all to say, or even an idea of where the story could go, feel free to share! I don't bite, I promise.

If anyone wants to beta-read, I'm looking for someone to help out.

Enjoy the chapter! I'll try to update as soon as my muse will allow. ^_^


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